In the summer of 2017, audiences responded well to “Wonder Woman”, the feature-length film starring Gal Gadot. Thanks to audience numbers, and the film’s powerhouse female lead and director, Hollywood greenlit “Wonder Woman 2”.

We can only imagine how amazing the second film will be. But we’re currently thrilled that the superhero flick is the first to follow new anti-sexual-harassment guidelines.

The PGA and sexual harassment

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced its Anti-Sexual Harassment Task Force and list of guidelines in mid-January.

The Task Force was originally founded in October “in conjunction with its decision to permanently ban Harvey Weinstein from its membership,” reports Teen Vogue. Although PGA membership is voluntary, which makes the Organization’s guidelines voluntary, “Wonder Woman 2’s” participation is important.

The new guidelines

The sexual harassment guidelines will ensure that Hollywood “productions comply with federal and state laws about harassment, provide in-person anti-sexual harassment training to all cast and crew members, and offer a system for people to report any incidents of sexual harassment,” adds Teen Vogue.

And if sexual harassment does happen on a job, the guidelines outline “clear recommendations for reporting incidents,” reports Nerdist.

It’s exciting a film about female power is the first to implement these guidelines. However, it’s important that this film is the first for another reason, too.

Brett Ratner

Six women accused Brett Ratner, producer of “Wonder Woman”, of sexual harassment or assault in November 2017. Although Ratner denied the allegations, Gadot wasn’t having it.

Gadot showed support for the accusers by stating that she would not “reprise her role in ‘Wonder Woman 2’ if the producer [Ratner] remained attached to the franchise in any way,” Teen Vogue adds. “… Gal has since confirmed that Brett would not be producing ‘Wonder Woman 2’.”

Always evolving

However, the PGA’s Guidelines aren’t set in stone. So, the organization will likely change its Guidelines as the “industry explores new approaches to this problem [sexual harassment] and as new resources become available”. The PGA also adds it will continue to work with TIME’S UP and the industry commission chaired by Anita Hill.

You can read the PGA’s Guidelines here.

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ColumnThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is somewhat closer to solving its not-so-little problem–and we’re not talking about global warming. How about sexual harassment? Yep.

Sadly, this news isn’t surprising. The EPA’s sexual harassment issue became public a little more than a year ago during a congressional hearing.

Now, an EPA office—specifically the Region 5 office in Chicago, and more specifically, the office also involved with the recent water crisis in Flint, Michigan—will face “an audit of how this office handles sexual-harassment complaints,” Mother Jones reports.

The news was revealed in a letter sent to the EPA’s Region 5 office in August 2016.

The problems

This letter is the result of the damning—and brave—whistleblowers who made an EPA intern’s harrowing experience public.

According to two of the whistleblowers, in 2011 “an intern approached Ronald Harris, the Region 5 Equal Employment Opportunity officer at the time, who helped her file an informal complaint alleging that she had been harassed by Paul Bertram, an environmental scientist then employed at the agency,” Mother Jones reports.

“It bothered her,” Harris said during his testimony to the committee.

“She was strong…She kept saying to me, ‘I just want it to stop. How do I get it to stop?'”

The intern also was subjected to touching, groping and kissing—all initiated by Bertram, said Carolyn Bohlen, Harris’ supervisor at the time.

Both Harris and Bohlen faced retaliation via their supervisors—bullying and intimidation that led to their resignations– because the whistleblowers reported the intern and other women’s sexual harassment allegations.

The results

The jury is still out on this case, but other sexual harassment allegations at the EPA are also gaining attention.

“Three months prior to the July 2015 hearing, the committee heard testimony from EPA officials, including EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins,” which alleged “that a high-level employee in the EPA Office of Homeland Security in Washington, DC, had sexually harassed multiple women,” Mother Jones reports.

“When senior officials in the agency were made aware of the man’s alleged conduct, they ‘did not take any actions’ against him, according to Patrick Sullivan, an official with the inspector general’s office who testified at the April 2015 hearing. The inspector general’s investigation found that the man, Peter Jutro, had ‘engaged in unwelcomed conduct’ with more than a dozen women over the course of 10 years, ‘including touching, hugging, kissing, photographing, and making double entendre comments with sexual connotations,’ according to Sullivan’s testimony before the committee.”

This is one of those things we hate knowing, but are relieved to know is public information.

But let’s not forget: Sexual harassment is rampant in the science industry. So, just because the EPA was correctly called out on its bullshit doesn’t mean that anything will change.

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Image of upset woman via Shutterstock

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Young, naive, and unsuspecting women are lured into the trade, the underbelly of fashion, with broken promises that eventually lead to shattered dreams, and oftentimes shattered lives. Welcome to the modeling industry.

Glossy magazine covers, fat checks, bright lights, big dreams, notoriety, and fame. There’s a good chance we’ve all thought about these things at some point in our lives. After all, the picture perfect lives of supermodels and celebrities are broadcast around us every day. And if you’ve got the height, the body type, and the looks, then you may have even fantasized about gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated or becoming a lingerie-clad Angel.

Why not, you think. The idea of your name being up in lights, or at least on the roster during fashion week is a dream that’s being sold hard and fast and not very fairly. In fact, parading down that runway dressed in designer duds may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

The modeling industry doesn’t always serve as a chance to play dress up, while having someone fuss over your hair and makeup. Nor does it mean you’ll be sailing away to an exotic location to a photo shoot by the sea. And even if it did, chances are the conditions and hours would be grueling and the pay would be paltry, sometimes even nonexistent.

As an emerging face trying to make a name for yourself, these conditions may even seem alright temporarily, but from the latest revelations that have been uncovered about the modeling industry, the abuse doesn’t stop there.

In addition to the crash diets, eating disorders, drugs, criticism, and an absolutely wrecked self-esteem, these women, and oftentimes, teens, are subject to additional forms of abuse and exploitation. The Business of Fashion claims that “the two biggest problems in the global modeling industry are the sexual harassment and financial exploitation of models.” Among the various forms of sexual abuse is unwanted touching, being pressured into having sex at work, and being asked to pose nude during casting or on the job without prior notice.

The op-ed goes on to say, “Of those who had experienced sexual harassment, only 29 percent reported it to their agencies; of those who did report harassment to their agencies, the vast majority indicated that their agencies did not see the problem.” Some agents were rumored to recommend their clients sleep with someone on the job in order to further their careers.

In an expose by CNN, Carolyn Kramer, a former agency executive, was quoted as saying, “When you’re a supermodel like Giselle or Christy Turlington you’re treated like royalty, but 99 percent of models are treated like garbage.” Kramer also took it upon herself to compare the industry’s labor abuses “to those faced by young factory workers at the turn of the century.” The stories about women being promised pay are a dime a dozen, like the Jamaican model who, despite being told she’d receive a $75,000 annual salary, only ended up receiving a few thousand dollars for three years of work while in New York. And in an even darker scenario, some women in Florida were victimized as part of a fake modeling scheme, drugged, and then used for pornographic films.

Why is this happening in the modeling industry?

“Under current federal and New York State law, independent contractors are not afforded the same protection from sexual harassment in the workplace as employees (the same is true of wage and hour protection),” reveals The Business of Fashion. Even though New York City law is supposed to protect independent contractors from sexual harassment, there is sometimes little that can be done to fight back due to the complicated hiring structure, therefore allowing misogyny and objectification to run rampant. From misclassification to federal law prevailing, loopholes are often found preventing women from successfully pressing charges for sexual harassment or wage theft.

What can be done to protect models now and in the future from rampant sexual harassment and financial exploitation?

Even those models who have “made it” so to speak, earning six or seven figure salaries annually, still face issues like receiving exorbitant miscellaneous charges from their agencies, as well as the use of their image without proper compensation, not to mention the sexual harassment they’ve probably been putting up with for years. If top models are also still facing this treatment, then the outlook can seem bleak.

Although former attempts have been thwarted by agencies, continuing to fight for unionization and government intervention is so important for the protection and safety of models. Furthering the causes of labor advocacy organizations, like Model Alliance, is necessary for raising awareness and bringing victims together. 

Let us know your thoughts on the issue by sharing on the EcoSalon Facebook page.

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Image of Striped Model via Shutterstock

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We can file this under, “totally not surprised, but really wish it wasn’t the case:” Tipped workers are prone to sexual harassment in the workplace more than their non-tipped peers.

Jezebel’s “Kitchenette” recently wrote about the results of the study “The Glass Floor: Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry” conducted by the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC). The results clearly show that tipped workers who received the lower-than-standard minimum wage (it typically sits right around $2.13 an hour) get sexually harassed a lot more than people not working for tips. The study included 688 employees of both genders across 39 states. (Of note: This study wasn’t peer reviewed. The group, however, hopes that the study’s results will at least be considered, and possibly lead to the end of “tipped minimum wage.”)

But wait! There’s more: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also reports that more sexual harassment in the workplace claims come from the restaurant industry than anywhere else. And here’s another disturbing number for you to chew on: 80 percent of women in the restaurant industry have been harassed by managers, customers, or co-workers.

So, why all the harassment? The link seems to be because these employees work for tips. In the United States, 43 states use the “tipped sub-minimum wage” to pay employees. In these states, there are routinely more complaints about sexual harassment on the job, and more disturbingly, more instances where the workers put up with the harassment. Another surprising factor that leads to an increased amount of sexual harassment? When male and female employees wear different uniforms at a restaurant. (Also of note: Women in these states were encouraged to “dress sexy” for better tips.)

Another article that appeared on The Washington Post‘s website reports that workers often have to pick between “overlooking inappropriate behavior,” or “protesting at the risk of lost wages.” The Post article also provides some academic backup for the ROC’s claims: “A 2008 article in the Journal of Aggression and Violent (sic) noted research on how salespeople respond less assertively to sexual misbehavior from customers when commissions are at stake.”

Now, on the bright side of all this: Restaurant workers in states without “sub-minimum wage” get harassed a lot less. These workers receive one “fair wage” and don’t have to rely on tips. For years, labor groups have been pushing for the end of tipped minimum wage. These groups say that tips are an unreliable way to get a steady income, and are often unfair.

Sadly, this news doesn’t surprise me at all. I have plenty of female friends who have worked in the restaurant industry at one time or another, and have been harassed by bosses, and customers. Most of the time these friends just shrugged off the treatment because they didn’t want to call attention to themselves, and wanted to keep their jobs. This type of harassment shouldn’t be happening and it would be great if the industry would do more as a whole to help protect waiters and their wages.

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Image: skedonk

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Do you ever have those days where you think you might just explode if you have to endure one more wolf whistle, cat call, or “hey baby?” Do you feel your face fuming but instead just walk on by, head phones in ears, pretending you don’t hear?

While that is certainly the most common and least confrontational response, it doesn’t do anything to reverse the culture of impunity that allows street harassers to do what they do without even a hint of shame. The truth is, all forms of sexual harassment and disrespect towards women—whether it’s a simple inane comment or an act of violence—come from the same place: the idea that the female body is a publicly owned entity, there for all men to comment on and use as they please.

In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Anti Street Harassment Week (April 7-13), EcoSalon gives you a list of “Talk Back” ammunition. The truth is that we still live in a world where talking back can also be taking a risk. However, there are certainly instances when speaking up directly and confidently is a powerful tool to challenge the wide acceptance of this tired form of oppression. Riding a bus or walking through a public place or a busy street are good examples; a late night walk home perhaps isn’t.

Organizations like Stop Street Harassment and Hollaback provide resources and encourage both women and bystanders to confront, report, and record this kind of intimidation. Tips include speaking in a neutral, yet assertive voice; not losing your temper or swearing; and to decide when you’re done making your point to avoid a back and forth battle (for more very useful tips see here).

Despite what some men—and even some women—will tell you, street harassment is not a compliment. If it makes you feel uncomfortable or objectified or just plain irritated, it’s not okay. Remember that you have a right to talk back, whereas many other women in the world may not.

Go on and give some of these replies a try:

1.”You look like someone whose opinion is irrelevant.”

2.“I’m sorry, you must have me confused with someone whom you think you can speak to that way.”

3.”It’s funny you should say that, because I don’t recall asking for your opinion on my appearance.”

4.”Can you please think of a more imaginative way to assert your threatened masculinity.”

5.”You should save that for your girlfriend—oh wait, you probably don’t have one because you clearly don’t know how to respect women.”

6.”God, you are just so clever and original. I bet your friends just love you.”

7.”Do you disrespect all the women in your life, or just ones you’ve never met?”

8.”Sweetheart, please stop perpetuating the patriarchal dividend. It’s so over.”

9.”Honestly, it’s too early in the morning for misogyny and patriarchy.”

10.”Please evolve before you speak to me any further.”

12.”Has that ever really worked for you?”

13.”You must have a solid track record of saying stupid shit to women.”

14.”Have you really not evolved past the cat call/wolf whistle/hey baby?? Get with the times, bro.”

15.”Would you like your wife/sister/daughter to be treated the same way you are treating me right now?”

16.”You need a new line, man—and also a lesson on how to respect women.”

17.”Wow, you’re the first man to ever say that to me!”

18.”Look at me any harder and your pants might split.”

19.”If I was trying to track down a good time, I would have been a little more creative.”

20. And for the guys who want to speak up: “You’re making women hate men. Stop it.”

Image credit: TED Conference

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ColumnA snake by any other name … is a penis.

In an appropriations committee hearing on the Connecticut Science Center on Feb. 20, a 17-year-old high school senior spoke about how the center helped her overcome her fear of snakes. She said, “I never liked snakes, but I started loving them, they’re my best friends.” She added that she wants to work with kids in the future, and said she’s usually a shy person.

Ernest Hewett, a Democratic State representative, replied, “If you’re bashful, I got a snake sitting under my desk here.” The committee laughed.

Here’s a young woman, interested in science, getting a chance to speak in front of an elected official. And maybe she came across confident, not shy. But his riff on her comment sexualized her, a minor, which seems to be popular this season. Hewett claims the comment came out wrong (I’d say). “What I meant to say was, ‘If you are shy, then I have an acre of land in the Everglades.'”

Or a bridge to nowhere?

Hewett has apologized, and the girl has reportedly accepted. He has been stripped of his position as deputy speaker, but he’s still currently in office. Never fear, he’s staying away from the girls.

In an effort to defend himself, which served to do the opposite, he told the Hartford Courant: “I purposely will not have female interns. My intern now is a male. I want to keep it like that. I’ve had female interns in the past that sit in my office all day. I thought it was totally weird and I didn’t want another. As a matter of fact, I went four, maybe six years without having an intern at all because of stuff like that. I have a male intern, the last two I’ve had were male.”

This begs the question: Stuff like what? In what ways did he harass and degrade the female interns unlucky enough to enter his chambers? Internships are essential in this economy and to lockout half of the population—and sometimes the best person for the job—because you’re worried that you can’t keep your snake in its basket, is illegal.

We’re celebrating that there are 20 whole women in Congress this year—which is, sadly, a huge deal given that of the nearly 2,000 senators in the history of Congress, only 44 have been female. Our joy says a lot about how hard it still is for women to excel in politics. We keep thinking it’s getting better, and then this kind of thing happens. For many, an internship is the entry point. If women are shut out of that experience or forced to endure sexual harassment to keep the job, the road to a political career just gets harder. And then we have fewer female leaders.

Illinois, and the country, lost a pioneer this week. Democrat Dawn Clark Netsch spent more than 60 years in Illinois politics. She was well-known, and respected, for speaking her mind. An advocate for women’s and gay rights, and a champion for racial equality, she was recently honored in Chicago at Planned Parenthood’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Throughout her career she served as an adviser to Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner Jr., helped rewrite the Illinois Constitution in 1970 and was elected state comptroller in 1990.

But it’s her early career that connects back to what happened last month in Connecticut. Netsch graduated first in her class from Northwestern University Law School in 1952, yet she could not get a job because she was a woman. She had the gumption not to let that hold her back. She went on to work on Adlai Stevenson’s 1952 presidential campaign, and then joined a Washington, D.C. law firm.

I can only hope that, like Netsch and the many other women who have faced adversity in their political careers, women who are being discriminated against will speak out and say: I will not stand for this. The more the grass is cut, the easier it is to find the snakes.

Photo credit: LongitudeLatitude

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A weekly look at sex and culture, by the numbers.

If anyone has the right to be irritated this week, it’s Kate Middleton. Can’t a Duchess get a little uninterrupted tanning time in? In her royal honor, we’ve dedicated this week’s Sex By Numbers to every woman that just wants to be left alone (there’s an app for that, by the way).

24 Hours: Length of time that a French court gave the gossip magazine Closer to hand over topless photos of The Duchess of Cambridge. Will and Kate won an injunction against the tabloid shortly after the pictures were published on Monday.

1 in 10: Only 10% of sexual harrassment incidences are reported. The Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children, based in Toronto, has created a helpful app which provides snarky responses to cat calls and ways to dispel unsolicited and inappropriate attention.

60s: When it comes to the sex lives of people over the age of 40, Hollywood has historically left the subject alone, until now. A new film starring Meryl Streep (63) and Tommy Lee Jones (66) is boldly and funnily “acknowledging that sexuality in older age exists.”

90: Thinking about the act of sex outside the context of, well, sex can make the actual mechanics seem kind of off-putting. A new study in the journal PLoS ONE that surveyed 90 women found that sexual arousal lessens gave the “disgust factor” that might otherwise be associated with the exchange of all those bodily fluids.

3rd highest: The state of Texas has the 3rd highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation. Despite this, some parents would still rather opt out of the new sex-ed curriculum that is being adopted by many Texas schools, which aims to take a more realistic approach to the sexual lives of teenagers.

54%: When it comes to sexting, teenagers are doing anything but leaving each other alone. A Los Angeles based study found that 54% of teens know someone that engages in sexting and that the act is usually an indicator of further sexually risky behavior.

64: Women who regularly read magazines such as Cosmopolitan (which has a total of 64 international editions) or others that include scripts about female sexual desire are more likely to “prioritise their sexual desire for their own sake, but not for the male partner.”

80%: Number of Egyptian women who report having experienced some form of sexual harassment. The study, carried out by the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights, found most of the victims were wearing headscarves.

Image: Tom Soper Photography

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U.S. flower giants are beginning to respond to criticism over abusive labor practices.

For conscious consumers, the hypocrisy is striking every Mother’s Day: those colorful blossoms given to brighten Mom’s day are most likely produced under a dark cloud of abuse that often harms female workers most. Before buying a bouquet, consider selecting a Fair Trade-designated arrangement from either FTD or 1-800 Flowers.

The U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project reports that in Colombia and Ecuador, the two largest flower exporters to the U.S., workers earn poverty-level wages. What’s more, 55% of women workers in Ecuador have been victims of sexual harassment, and 66% of all workers suffer from work-related health problems due to handling dangerous pesticides. This exposure causes workers to experience higher rates of premature births, congenital malformations, and miscarriages. The stress heightens during the busy season, when workers can put in 70-80 hour work weeks with no overtime pay.

In February, Change.org drew a bulls-eye on 1-800-Flowers, calling for a boycott of the flower provider for Valentine’s Day due to these barbaric practices. More than 50,000 members signed a petition urging the flower giant to offer fair trade selections by Mother’s Day.

The company responded, offering six new, clearly labeled arrangements (Change.org called for five), and three fair trade gift baskets. The “Planet Friendly Smile” prices are only slightly higher than the conventional choices. The flowers in these selections were grown and picked in accordance with fair trade criteria and are certified by Fair Trade USA.

1-800 Flowers is now reportedly working to increase its transparency and is moving towards partnering with more fair trade-governed flower farms. Customers need to encourage a full-scale operational transformation by buying these newly available selections. Consumers always have a vote by deciding where and how to spend their money.

Change.org has also turned its eye on FTD, but the company needed little urging before it followed 1-800 Flowers’ lead. FTD hasn’t come as far as 1-800 Flowers yet, but they offer five fair trade arrangements and, we hope, will move toward greater transparency in sourcing soon. 1-800 Flowers and FTD are both major U.S. flower vendors, so if their lines are successful, it will set a powerful precedent.

image: Pink Sherbert Photography

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Gender bias still thrives in some workplaces.

Women are still fighting battles in the workplace, including unequal pay, low numbers in the C-suite, sexual harassment, and, in some cases, even rape and assault. Here are five organizations that have recently been on the wrong end of allegations and legal action by women for gender discrimination and other unfair practices aimed primarily at female employees.

KBR

Jaws dropped when KBR was voted number 46 on a list of the best companies for work for by Woman Engineer magazine. The company has been sued several times by female employees alleging sexual assaults and sexual harassment by KBR employees. In addition, the company required employees to sign contracts that took away their constitutional right to bring civil action in the event of sexual assault or other grievance – instead, forcing them to agree to confidential and binding arbitration. That practice is now being scrutinized by the U.S. Senate, which estimates that 30 million Americans have unknowingly signed away their legal rights with similar contracts.

Perhaps the most famous case is Jamie Leigh Jones. After only four days on the job, Jones was drugged and raped by seven U.S. contractors in 2005. Afterward, she was held captive by two KBR guards in a shipping container. She fought for over four years for her day in court as a result of her employee contract (Republican leadership infamously came to the defense of KBR). Her attorney, Todd Kelly, has represented five former KBR employees who have alleged sexual assault or harassment and told ABC News some 40 women have contacted his office about alleged incidents while they were working for KBR.

Walmart

It began with Betty Dukes. After years of being passed over for promotion, she and five other female employees filed a federal discrimination suit against Walmart in 2001. The women allege there is a centralized culture biased against women in the organization and cite more than 100 specific instances of discrimination. 80 percent of Walmart hourly workers are women, while less than one-third of managers are women. The plantiffs claim that Walmart favors men for higher pay and promotions.

The case has grown into a landmark fight as the women have become representatives for 1.5 million female employees who also claim to have been victims of discriminatory practices at the largest employer in the U.S. Together they are bringing a massive discrimination suit against the retailer.

Arguments reached the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2011, where the justices will determine if the suit can move forward as a class action. Walmart claims these were isolated incidents, not a widespread company attitude against women. If the case remains a class action and the plaintiffs win, it could have a big impact on how employers throughout the country treat female employees in the future. If the Supreme Court dismantles the class action, each woman would be left to fight their own case individually, which is much less expensive for Walmart and a bigger uphill battle for the women. The court’s decision is expected by summer 2011.

Goldman Sachs

In September 2010, Goldman Sachs, home of the 10,000 Women initiative, was sued by three former female employees who allege discrimination in pay and advancement. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that in the complaint, one of the former employees said, “Men at Goldman Sachs are viewed more favorably, receive more compensation, and are more likely to be promoted.” After one former employee reported being kissed and groped by another male employee, she was punished by hostile attitudes and her career suffered. In the meantime, the male colleague she accused was steadily promoted and his compensation increased by more than 400 percent.

There are very few women at the director and partner level, compared to lower levels at the firm, but Goldman Sachs counters by claiming that their numbers are comparable to and even better than many other financial firms. In March 2010, a former vice president at the firm also filed suit claiming bias. After she gave birth and chose to work part-time, she claims that she was pushed onto the “mommy track” and eventually fired.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals

In May 2010, after a six-week trial, a jury found Novartis guilty of discriminatory practices against women. Twelve women, representing 5,600 women, alleged that women were discriminated against in pay, promotions and pregnancy-related issues.

Kate Kimpel, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told Swissinfo.ch, “Novartis had a corporate culture that expected female sales reps to be ‘available and amenable to sexual advances’ from the doctors they met while marketing drugs. ‘To add insult to injury, Novartis paid those same women less, wouldn’t promote them into management, and punished them if they got pregnant.’”

During the trial, the plaintiffs presented testimony about a district manager who showed female workers pornographic images and invited them to sit in his lap. Novartis’ lawyer Richard Schnadig explained, “He was an embarrassment to the company. He wasn’t that bad a manager. He was just terrible with women.”

U.S. Armed Forces

In February 2011, two men and 15 women, veterans and active-duty service members, filed a federal lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Defense of permitting an armed forces culture that does nothing to prevent rape and sexual assault. When crimes are reported, they mishandled the cases, violating the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. The New York Times reported that the suit specifically names Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, claiming they “ran institutions in which perpetrators were promoted and where military personnel openly mocked and flouted the modest congressionally mandated institutional reforms.” In addition, they failed “to take reasonable steps to prevent plaintiffs from being repeatedly raped, sexually assaulted and sexually harassed by federal military personnel.”

The plaintiffs claim that soldiers that make any sort of complaint in the military are likely to experience retaliation and have nowhere to turn for help. In this oppressive climate, many sexual assaults are not even reported. Even attempts at sexual harassment and assault education were mocked. Plaintiffs related an incident where a soldier stripped naked and danced on the table during a break in a class on the prevention of sexual harassment and assault. Another incident involved two men who raped a woman, videotaped it, and distributed the tape to her colleagues.

In 2005, Congress mandated the creation of a task force on military sexual assault, but by 2008 the Government Accountability Office (GAO), determined that it had spent $15 million but could not substantiate any proven results. In 2009 reported sexual assaults went up 11 percent, according to the Department of Defense, resulting in one third of the women serving in the military reporting having been sexually assaulted. Even the Pentagon admits that these probably only represent about 20 percent of actual incidents. The Daily Beast reports that female recruits “are now far more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed in combat.” Women aren’t the only victims in this case. More than fifty percent of those who are diagnosed with Military Sexual Trauma are men.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Susan L. Burke, stated, “You should not have to be subjected to being raped or sexually assaulted because you volunteered to serve this nation.”

We’ve got a long way to go, baby.

Image: cinnamon_girl

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